It’s not unusual for 1899 Hoffenheim to have reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup. TSG have been in the last eight in five of the last six years but they are yet to reach the last four. Hoffenheim will have to overcome a tough test if they are to achieve that this season when they take on Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday (20:30 CEST).
It also gives them the opportunity to forget Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach. Despite the heavy loss, TSG are still on course to qualify for the Europa League. Ahead of the game against Dortmund, goalkeeper Oliver Baumann spoke to DFB.de about his personal records this season, the upcoming cup game and the Europa League.
DFB.de: How has it been since making the move from Freiburg to Hoffenheim?
Oliver Baumann: I’m happy and feel comfortable here. It’s hard to compare Freiburg and Hoffenheim but here we have a huge training centre. They are worlds apart in comparison. Hoffenheim have more opportunities, there are a lot more people and more individual support. The conditions here are brilliant.
DFB.de: TSG travel to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in the DFB Cup. Is the league game in the back of your mind? A lot of people thought that you were partly at fault for the only goal of the game.
Baumann: It’s not hanging over me. I spoke a lot about the situation after the game and suggested that I wouldn’t have saved the ball for certain if I’d stayed on my line. I had to try and intercept the cross. I don’t see myself at fault.
DFB.de: How nice will it be to play under floodlights in front of Dortmund’s crowd?
Baumann: It’s something special and something that we haven’t experienced very often this season. It’s nice when the stadium is really loud but we won’t let it affect us and have to blank out the crowd.
DFB.de: Critics have said that 1899 Hoffenheim haven’t been consistent enough. Do you agree with that internally?
Baumann: Yes and no. We could have picked up a few more points away from home but on the whole I think we have been pretty consistent.
DFB.de: Last season, a big problem for Hoffenheim was the number of goals they conceded. How far have the team come in terms of having a better balance between attack and defence?
Baumann: There’s a big difference between now and last season. I also think that we’ve improved since the first half of the season. In tight games when it becomes hectic towards the end, we’ve learnt to remain calm. We’re solid at the back in those situations and implement what we have been working on at training.
DFB.de: You played in Europe with SC Freiburg last season. How desirable is it from your point of view to qualify for the Europa League?
Baumann: Europa League football means additional costs. You have less time for preparation and in Freiburg we lost a lot of important players, which meant we needed more time to get to know how each other played. But it’s an amazing feeling to play in Europe. The trips to other countries and getting to know a different culture – that’s something special and is a highlight for everyone. But we don’t want to supply the media with headlines. We’ll try to finish the season well and if we get something positive out of it then we’ll be happy with that.
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It’s not unusual for 1899 Hoffenheim to have reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup. TSG have been in the last eight in five of the last six years but they are yet to reach the last four. Hoffenheim will have to overcome a tough test if they are to achieve that this season when they take on Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday (20:30 CEST).
It also gives them the opportunity to forget Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach. Despite the heavy loss, TSG are still on course to qualify for the Europa League. Ahead of the game against Dortmund, goalkeeper Oliver Baumann spoke to DFB.de about his personal records this season, the upcoming cup game and the Europa League.
DFB.de: How has it been since making the move from Freiburg to Hoffenheim?
Oliver Baumann: I’m happy and feel comfortable here. It’s hard to compare Freiburg and Hoffenheim but here we have a huge training centre. They are worlds apart in comparison. Hoffenheim have more opportunities, there are a lot more people and more individual support. The conditions here are brilliant.
DFB.de: TSG travel to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in the DFB Cup. Is the league game in the back of your mind? A lot of people thought that you were partly at fault for the only goal of the game.
Baumann: It’s not hanging over me. I spoke a lot about the situation after the game and suggested that I wouldn’t have saved the ball for certain if I’d stayed on my line. I had to try and intercept the cross. I don’t see myself at fault.
DFB.de: How nice will it be to play under floodlights in front of Dortmund’s crowd?
Baumann: It’s something special and something that we haven’t experienced very often this season. It’s nice when the stadium is really loud but we won’t let it affect us and have to blank out the crowd.
DFB.de: Critics have said that 1899 Hoffenheim haven’t been consistent enough. Do you agree with that internally?
Baumann: Yes and no. We could have picked up a few more points away from home but on the whole I think we have been pretty consistent.
DFB.de: Last season, a big problem for Hoffenheim was the number of goals they conceded. How far have the team come in terms of having a better balance between attack and defence?
Baumann: There’s a big difference between now and last season. I also think that we’ve improved since the first half of the season. In tight games when it becomes hectic towards the end, we’ve learnt to remain calm. We’re solid at the back in those situations and implement what we have been working on at training.
DFB.de: You played in Europe with SC Freiburg last season. How desirable is it from your point of view to qualify for the Europa League?
Baumann: Europa League football means additional costs. You have less time for preparation and in Freiburg we lost a lot of important players, which meant we needed more time to get to know how each other played. But it’s an amazing feeling to play in Europe. The trips to other countries and getting to know a different culture – that’s something special and is a highlight for everyone. But we don’t want to supply the media with headlines. We’ll try to finish the season well and if we get something positive out of it then we’ll be happy with that.
